That wasn’t the terminology used by Joel Carson, lead consultant on a wildfire survey for Cape Cod, but it sums up the combination of soil and fuel conditions in the region.

The sandy soils and type of vegetation that dominate of Barnstable and Plymouth counties make them second only to California for natural conditions conducive for forest fires, Carson said.

The plan was commissioned through the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension Service, which retained Northeast Forest and Fire Management LLC to develop the plan.

In an Oct. 24 presentation to the county commissioners, Carson explained that part of the analysis was to calculate the entire fire fuel load for the Cape, plug it into a computer along with other information and light the digital match.

“We burned down the Cape all at once several times,” Carson said.

This information is then put against U.S. Census block data, fire station locations and other relevant data to determine the risk.

According to the executive summary, the Cape was classified into four categories of fire risk: low (14.7 percent), moderate (42.1 percent), high (41.2 percent), and extreme (2.0 percent).

“There's a reason to be worried about woodland fire on the Cape,” Carson said.

The plan for Barnstable County is the first county-wide survey that Carson was aware of in the northeast. He told the commissioners that it is being looked at closely by counties up and down the east coast.

Carson and his firm have done similar plans for the Massachusetts Military Reservation, where his company has performed all of the prescribed burns. The MMR is among the hot spots for wildfire, noted in red for “extreme” risk of wildfire. The southern tip of Cotuit, parts of Wellfleet and Eastham are also extreme cases. Most of West Barnstable, including Sandy Neck and the West Barnstable Conservation Area, are rated as “high” risks.

The county has assisted towns with prescribed burns across the Cape for the past few years, including burns in Barnstable’s West Barnstable Conservation area. Prescribed burns and trail clearing help reduce fuel sources for wildfire and help maintain access.

The Cape has long been known for its wildfires. The pages of the Patriot over the past 180 years are full of references to burns from a couple acres to a couple thousand on a somewhat routine basis. One of the last major fires occurred in 1946, spreading from Camp Edwards north through Sandwich and east through Mashpee and near the Barnstable town line. Along the way, 15,000 acres were scorched in four days.

“Will it prevent a wildfire?” Cason asked of the plan. “No, but what we can do is lessen the likelihood of catastrophic wildfire.”

The advantage of mapping, Carson said, is that it “takes a very complex topic and makes it more accessible” for those managing lands.

Having a county-wide plan also helps when it comes to funding, as region-wide grants can be pursued.

Part of the recommendations include an education program for homeowners, who can take measures around their property to make it more likely to survive such a fire and that firefighters would have a greater success rate and be safer in doing so.

The report also indicated that a county-wide survey of fire departments indicated that more wildland fire training opportunities would be the most effective in increasing wildland fire preparedness.

“Barnstable county has really been proactive on this, and really ahead of the game,” Carson said.

The county-wide wildfire report can be found online at www.capecodextension.org. Follow the “Natural Resources” link to wildfire preparedness.